São Paulo – When he started breeding caiman, in the early 1980s, vet Gerson Bueno Zahdi wanted to save the animal from extinction in the Pantanal, the Brazilian wetlands. At that time, the hunting of caiman threatened to make the main predator of the local fauna extinct. Today, apart from collaborating with preservation, Zahdi has profit with the slaughter and preparation of caiman hides for production of handbags, shoes and clothes. “The skin of our animals is excellent. The Americans and Italians say that it is top quality,” he said.
The story, however, began in the early 20th Century, in 1912, when Zahdi’s grandfather left Syria for Brazil. Here, he lived in Paranaguá and Curitiba, in Paraná, and worked as a travelling salesman until he moved to Mato Grosso do Sul, where, almost 80 years later, his grandson would become the first Brazilian producer of precocious caiman. Zahdi worked at the Brazilian Environment and Renewable Natural Resource Institute (Ibama) and accompanied the uncontrolled hunting of the species. “I decided to breed caiman to preserve them,” recalled the farmer, aged 65.
He was the first producer of precocious caiman as he developed a technique that allows him to slaughter the animals between the age of 12 and 15 months, whereas the average age of slaughter is 36 months. Supplying feed with no preservatives, not using antibiotics and reducing the time between meals are among the changes as against normal breeding techniques.
The caiman he breeds fatten faster and have better hides than the other animals. Slaughtered earlier, they spend less time in the sun and suffer less calcification, which makes the skins better for processing. “In the past, farmers needed from four to six months to slaughter a chicken. Nowadays, 40 days is enough. The same is taking place with caiman, thanks to the improvement we’ve made,” he said.
Zahdi’s farm is in Miranda, some 200 kilometres away from state capital Campo Grande. In the area of 1,800 hectares, he breeds 2,200 heads of cattle and 6,000 caiman. It is the only farm that has been authorised by the Federal Government to breed the species for slaughter in Mato Grosso do Sul.
Of the revenues he has with the farm, 50% come from cattle breeding, 25% from crocodile breeding and another 25% from tourism, a product resulting from reptile breeding. Within the farm there is a 45 bed inn that receives tourists all year round. Half of them are foreign. Most of the dishes served to the clients use caiman meat: caiman strips, caiman leg appetizers and caiman stake flambé, among others. Tourists also have an opportunity to visit the breeding grounds.
If tourism is a source of income for Zahdi’s farm, the resulting advertising and the sale of animals generate further dividends. He has already contacted buyers from other countries and hopes, in the near future, to start exporting. “If an order is placed today, I start delivering one year from now,” he said.
The farmer’s gains with the hides are much greater on the international market. When processed, ready for use, the hides cost between US$ 10 and US$ 20 per linear centimetre at the broadest part of the animal’s belly. “But selling tanned hides abroad is a risk, as consumers complain about small problems. So we prefer to sell raw hides. That phase is the responsibility of the buyer,” said Zahdi.
He produces from 3,000 to 4,000 caiman hides a year, a total considered small as against those of international producers. “But we are growing. Our product is better than that of producers from Mato Grosso. It is necessary to be aware of quality,” he said.
*Translated by Mark Ament
